Arsene Wenger was once on the hot seat for his handling of Arsenal's early-season troubles, but now his squad is surging, mainly due to a superstar striker.

Robin van Persie continues to prove his value to the Gunners as Arsenal held off Borussia Dortmund at Emirates, 2-1, and sealed their place in the knockout stage of Champions League for the 12th consecutive time.

Though the Dutch forward scored the first goal of the match with his header in the 49th minute, it was defensive midfielder Alex Song who deserves a large share of the credit with an fantastic assist.

Song found his way past several Borussia Dortmund defenders, and even split a pair, to deliver a cross to van Persie. It was a spectacular play from Song, who provided his most memorable play for the Gunners in quite some time.

Van Persie would extend the lead in the closing minutes when Thomas Vermaelen's near-post flick gave the Dutch forward the opportunity to slam it home for the Gunners.

Dortmund made the final score look more respectable as forward Shinji Kagawa scored off a cross from Robert Lewandowski in the dying moments of the match. The goal was helped by poor defending from Johan Djourou.

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger's squad finally saw the return of midfielder Abou Diaby, who received a positive reception from the Emirates faithful.

It was a long game for Dortmund. The Bundesliga squad managed only nine shots with four on goal. Arsenal only had five shots, with three on goal, but controlled the ball for 59 percent of the match.

Arsenal will face Olympiakos at Karaiskaki Stadium on Dec. 6 in their final group-stage match.

Here's a look at Song's impressive assist:

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